This invention relates to the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, including but not limited to atrial fibrillation.
A healthy heart typically beats rhythmically and at a predictable rate. However, in some individuals, often those who have underlying heart disease, the heart beats arrhythmically: either too quickly (a condition called tachycardia) or too slowly (a condition called bradycardia). These rhythm abnormalities can occur in the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) or the lower chambers (the ventricles).
One of the most common arrhythmias is atrial fibrillation, which affects more than two million Americans. Atrial fibrillation is associated with symptoms such as palpitations and shortness of breath, an increased risk of blood clots and stroke, and in some patient's congestive heart failure. There are several options for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, including medications, implantable atrial defibrillators, the surgical maze procedure which physically interrupts conduction paths with incisions, or catheter-based procedures such as radiofrequency ablation to interrupt conduction paths. Unfortunately, many of these treatments do not offer a cure and all have significant limitations.